


The Only Exception

by Indigo_Penstrokes



Series: Playlist Inspired [1]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, I promise it's not bad it's all stuff that happened in the past, Minor Violence, Past Character Death, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 09:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12956124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indigo_Penstrokes/pseuds/Indigo_Penstrokes
Summary: Smalls has never been big on the concept of love, not until Sniper comes into her life where she finds an exception to her unspoken rule.





	The Only Exception

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
> I've been listening to The Only Exception by Paramore way too much and this is the product of that, me missing my own gf, and the serious lack of lesbian ships in this fandom.  
> Enjoy!

Smalls doesn't know how she got to this point in her life. But here she is quietly slow dancing with her girlfriend in their tiny kitchen in their tiny dorm. Her head resting on Sniper's shoulder, her arms linked around the taller girl's waist. Everything is soft and peaceful and content. 

The song changes and Sniper starts to sing quietly, her cheek pressed to the top of Smalls’ head. The words floating gently around the tiny room. 

“I love you.” Three barely there words, words Smalls thought she would never say. Not like this. Not ever. 

But Sniper's an exception, she's always been an exception to everything Smalls thought she knew about love. She never thought she would be worthy of love, much less be able to let someone in to her guarded heart. Sniper's always been the only exception. 

“I love you too.” Four words, said against her forehead and sealed with a kiss to the same spot. Four words that make what they've been through worth it. 

It's hard to imagine that it hadn't always been like this, easy and happy and safe. 

She remembers having to see her father die of a broken heart when her mother left. The doctors said it was a heart attack, she had always known that her father's heart wouldn't beat without her mother. She remembers watching helplessly as everything she had known slipped away, like water between her fingers. She had cried all of her love away in Elmer's arms that first night in a new family's house, that night she had sworn off love forever. That the only one who would stay by her side would be Elmer, they would be an inseparable duo with her fight and his wits. She was only eight and had been through more than any eight year old should. 

She remembers being a teen with more bruises than freckles and a foul temper. The long nights of practice and bloodied, blistered feet that had seemed almost pointless at the time. She had screamed at the emptiness of the studio when she couldn't get a move down after hours of practice, practically killing her feet. But she had been so determined to live her dream, to escape the life she had, especially after being told she couldn't do it time after time. The counselors at school telling her she should choose something other than a dance degree, something she could actually make a living off of. So she kept at it, night after night, rehearsal after rehearsal until she made it to New York, until she made it into Julliard on a full ride. She made it in spite of them all. She made it when only Elmer believed in her. She was only seventeen and had more drive than anyone had thought possible.

She remembers meeting Sniper. The girl with the contagious laugh and a sharp tongue. The girl who would belt out showtunes with Elmer, but would also beat the crap out of anyone who would cross her or hurt any of her friends. The cellist who could convey any emotion with a handful of notes and her bow on the strings. Eventually she grew closer to her roommate, slowly starting to break down her walls with shared nights of insomnia. Walls she had built up carefully over years, walls that only Elmer had the keys to get in. She was only eighteen and scared at this deveolpment.

She remembers when things weren't good. When she had just started dating Sniper and they were walking home, alone. She remembers holding hands and laughing, she had been laughing more around Sniper than she had ever before. Then they were jumped. Smalls put up a good fight, so did Sniper, but they were no match for the Delanceys with their wicked knives and wolfish smiles. She remembers waking up in a hospital bed with Sniper by her side, bruised and beaten, but still there. Things were rocky for a week after, she had stayed with Elmer for a while. Not being able to look at Sniper and know that it was her fault that she had gotten hurt. She hadn’t known that Sniper had been thinking the same thing as she had stayed with Spot. But the wounds all healed and the two finally talked, much to the relief of their siblings, and love prevailed. They were only nineteen, both not truly adults yet.

She remembers the first time she realized she loved Sniper. It was after one of her performances and the entire gang had shown up. She was surprised when she found out that they had come for her, as per Sniper's request. Sniper had enveloped her in a giant hug, beaming at her all the while. Her heart had glowed, all of her friends came to see her, her girlfriend came to see her. She finally had a family that was more than just her and Elmer. She had people who loved her, and maybe she loved them too, in all of their loud boisterous splendor. And with Sniper smiling at her like she's hung the moon and all of the stars, it's really hard to think that she wasn't at least a little in love with her all along. This was four months ago and she hadn’t felt lighter. 

Smalls doesn't know when the tears start all she knows is that she's crying and Sniper is rubbing soothing circles into her back. 

“Shh, it's okay I got you,” Sniper says it into her hair. “I'm always here.” 

“I know.” She breathes in Sniper's smell. Flowers and detergent and home. “I know.” 

“I love you.” Sniper wipes away a tear. “I love you more than the moon and all of the stars.” 

“I love you too.” A new wave of tears start to roll down her face, but she's smiling through them. 

The pair stays like that, holding onto each other, anchoring each other. The song changes again to one Smalls knows and in that moment she had everything she could ever want. A loving girlfriend, a full ride scholarship to one of the best fine art schools with Elmer, and a future full of these soft, quiet, happy moments with the one she loves.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated alongside kudos!  
> Please come talk to me on tumblr @ad-astra-de-luna Please I need more friends who will talk with me about newsies.


End file.
